A casual observer might believe officials would put politics aside when dealing with a national crisis, such as the one Puerto Rico now faces with recovery efforts after being devastated recently by Hurricane Maria.

But a back-and-forth war of words has ensued between U.S. officials and San Juan's mayor in the wake of the storm that crippled Puerto Rico and left it without electricity as residents sought to recover from the hurricane damage.

San Juan Mayor Carmen Yulin Cruz, a member of the island's Democratic party, gave an emotional plea for help on Friday and also blasted U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Elaine Duke for calling the government's response to the hurricane a "good news story."

Trump also blasted Cruz Saturday morning in a series of tweets where he said she and other local officials had exhibited "poor leadership" and suggested Puerto Ricans weren't helping enough in relief efforts.

For his part, Puerto Rico Gov. Ricardo Russello has praised the U.S. response to the crisis.

Cruz responded to Trump's criticism Saturday saying her focus was on "saving lives."

"I was asking for help. I wasn't saying anything nasty about the president," Cruz told MSNBC. "It's not about politics, it's not about petty comments, it's about moving forward, putting boots on the ground and saving lives."

A casual observer might believe officials would put politics aside when dealing with a national crisis, such as the one Puerto Rico now faces with recovery efforts after being devastated recently by Hurricane Maria.But a back-and-forth war of words has ensued between U.S....